The Bible describes the church’s worship gatherings as coming to the heavenly Mt Zion. Though on Earth, we can’t see the mountain, it’s real. It’s there and we see it through the eyes of faith. And when we come to church, we meet the needs of our souls on that mountain to be part of God’s Kingdom. The Lord has stamped eternity in our hearts. Humans belong to him and are only satisfied when we submit ourselves in faith to God’s King – Jesus. What is it about God’s kingdom that meets our needs? Hebrews 12:23-24 has 4 reasons why it’s an unshakable Kingdom and meets the deepest yearnings of our soul.

A tool company that manufactured drill bits was faced with financial losses, such that company executives gathered to discuss the problem: declining demand. The CEO challenged his team: "We need to revive the bit market! How can we do that?" After an embarrassing silence, one member of the team dispelled the fog: "Sir, the market isn't for drill bits--it’s for holes!" There are no markets for products. The market is for what products do. Customers buy the satisfaction of a need. That business story has an important application for our lives. God created us with needs. Genesis 2 indicates humans were created on Mt Eden with 4 types of needs, and God has provided us the proper way to meet those needs in Jesus.

When parents raise children, they usually have ways that they reward obedience and discourage disobedience. As cute as children are, and as much as they need encouragement, they are born sinners who need correction, or they will grow up and their unstrained sin will bloom into full blown rebellion. But, even when they deserve punishment for something they did wrong, it is good to periodically give them grace instead. Why? Because that’s the kind of ‘parent’ God is. God met Noah on Mt Ararat and showed him that type of grace. Genesis 8 contains 4 aspects of his divine favor that applies to us too.

The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proofs of a portrait, was very angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the photographer and arrived with these angry words: “This picture does not do me justice!” The photographer replied, “Sir, with a face like yours, you don’t need justice, you need mercy!” We all need mercy, don’t we? Not just for our looks, but for our souls. And not just from each other, but from God himself. In Genesis 22, God met Abraham on a mountain. The story plays out in 4 acts that reveal how God has the mercy we all need in Jesus Christ.

When a young man was studying to become a pastor, he went to hear him preach and spoke to him afterwards. He said, “I confessed that I was not quite sure that I was saved.” Moody responded with words that helped the young man through that insecurity. We all have experiences like that. It is common to feel insecure in your relationship with God. In Exodus 3, Moses met God on Mt Horeb, and he was feeling quite insecure. He needed assurance and the Lord gave him 5 reasons why he could be assured. All of those reasons were because of God, not because of Moses, and they are for us too.

If you set aside a glass of clean water, put a little waste in it and left it undisturbed for a few days, the particles would settle to the bottom of the glass so that the water would begin to look drinkable. However, we all know that it would still be dangerous to drink, even though it appeared safe. If you took a sterile spoon and stirred the water, it would become readily evident that the water was not clean. God’s law is a bit like the sterile spoon. We need it to know what we are dealing with regarding sin. Exodus 3:1-22 gives us 3 purposes of God’s law in our lives as it relates to sin.

A missionary by the name of Aretta Loving was washing her dishes when she saw Jimmy, the five-year-old neighbor, headed straight toward the back porch. “Come around to the front door, Jimmy,” she shouted. “There’s wet paint on the porch rails.” “I’ll be careful,” Jimmy replied, not turning from his path. “Jimmy, stop!” Aretta shouted. “I don’t want carefulness. I want obedience!” As the words burst from her mouth, she thought to herself, “How often am I like Jimmy! I rationalize that I will be careful as I proceed with my own plans and sometimes flirt with sin. But God doesn’t want carefulness. He wants obedience.” Deuteronomy 11:26-32 describes our need for consequences, containing 4 principles we can apply to our life in order to obey God more.

When Ronald Reagan was a kid, his aunt took him to a cobbler to buy a new pair of shoes. At the shop, the cobbler asked him, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the shoemaker replied, “Your shoes will be ready in a couple of days.” When the future president returned, the cobbler handed him one square-toed shoe and one round-toed shoe. Reagan said later, “I learned right then and there, if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.” This is true in the Christian life. To be passive about your life means you will become a person the world wants you to be. 1 Kings 18 has 3 truths to strengthen our resolve to become the people God wants us to be.

One day long ago, a church goer asked his pastor how he was doing. The pastor replied that he was overloaded, but he said it with a smile. Puzzled, and still with some concern, the man asked a follow up question, simply, “Overloaded, pastor?” The pastor responded, “Overloaded with all the blessings of God!” What a great attitude that is. To walk around in life, counting your blessings every day. But sometimes that’s a challenge. Some days or even seasons of life, we just don’t feel blessed. It’s hard to consistently maintain the attitude that pastor had, isn’t it? To encourage us, especially in those times, Matthew 5:1-12 proclaims 4 truths about the abundance blessing there is for anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

In his book Miracle on the River Kwai, author Ernest Gordon retold a true story about POW’s in WWII. During one work detail, a shovel was missing, and the guard put all the prisoners in a line, threatening to kill everyone until the person who stole it stepped forward. As the guard cocked his rifle and pointed it at the head of the last person in line, another man stepped forward, stood at attention, and said calmly, “I did it.” After he was subsequently beaten to death, the prisoners picked up his body, shouldered their tools, and marched back to the camp. When the tools were counted again at the guardhouse, no shovel was missing. He died to save everyone. When we hear stories like that, we are inspired and think, “I want to be like that guy.” But where do we get that kind of courage? Matthew 17:1-13 addresses 3 fears that are common to all people and shows how Jesus provides the courage we need to face these 3 fears.

Most tombstones at cemeteries share some things in common like the name of the person, their birthdate and death date, and some words of tribute like “Loving husband and devoted father,” or “Much loved wife to John and mother to James and Daniel,” or “Beloved daughter, forever young, forever beautiful,” or “Our son, always in our hearts.” What do you want etched in stone on your tomb? What message do you want to send out from your grave? There is a tombstone outside of Sydney, New York, with no name on it, and no dates. It just has a one-word inscription, merely three syllables: “FORGIVEN.” That’s worthy of consideration for all Christians as Luke 23:33-49 describes 3 wonderful truths about the forgiveness of Jesus.

In the early 1900’s, the Standard Oil Company was preparing to establish itself in Indonesia. Company executives sought a manager for their Indonesian operations. They were informed that the man best qualified for the place was a certain missionary. Their offer of a salary to him was enormous, but he declined. After more offers were turned down, finally they said, “Just name your salary.” “Oh,” he replied, “the salary is big enough, but the job isn’t!” That man had a firm grip on something that nags at all our souls as Christians. We know that we are called to be involved in something greater than our regular work – the mission of Jesus. Matthew 28:16-20 explains the 3 ways we can do that.

When he was getting his haircut, a pastor talked to the barber about being saved by Jesus. The barber responded, “I do my best and that’s enough for me.” After the haircut was over, the pastor got up, and when the next man was seated in the chair, asked, “May I cut this customer’s hair?” “No, you mustn’t,” replied the barber. “But I would do my best,” answered the pastor. “So you might,” the barber replied, “but your best would not be good enough for this gentleman.” The pastor responded, “No, and neither is your best good enough for God.” Good Friday is a reminder to us that we don’t get right with God because we do our best for him. That’s not good enough because we are sinners. John 19 has 2 statements regarding the salvation that Jesus provides.

Two buddies went on vacation in upstate NY and decided to stop to see Niagara Falls. As they gazed over the edge where the rapids went over the cliff and saw the massive cloud of mist and heard the incredibly loud sounds that are constantly there, one of them said, “This must be the most untapped power in the entire world.” The other replied, “I think the most untapped power in the world is the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, who is a person, not just a power, has so much more power to be used in our lives than we are currently using. Acts 1:1-8 explains how God has granted you the dynamic spiritual energy for 3 tasks in your Christian life.

Way back in the 1700’s in England, a pastor named Henry was riding a horse on a road to preach at church when he came into another rider’s company. After conversing on several different subjects, the stranger, looking in Henry’s face, said, “Sir, I think you are on the wrong side of fifty?” “On the wrong side of fifty!” Henry replied. “No, sir, I am on the right side of fifty.” “Surely,” the stranger said, “you must have turned fifty already?” “Yes, sir,” added Henry, “but I am on the right side of fifty, for every year I live I am nearer to glory.” Revelation 21:9-27 has 4 glorious descriptions of Christian destiny beyond death so that we can all have that same attitude.